Our recommendations for Mount Vernon schools

May 14, 2008

Maria Aneiro

Michelle Walker

Charles Stern

Elias Gootzeit

Derrick Claye

Maria Cedano

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Six of the nine seats on the Mount Vernon school board are up for vote Tuesday, providing residents and taxpayers in this up-and-coming district a monumental opportunity to take giant steps toward change. That buzzword has been getting quite a workout lately in this densely populated and diverse city. Last November, city residents elected Democrat Clinton Young mayor, turning out 12-year incumbent Ernie Davis. The reverberations of that judgment are still being felt, as a legal challenge related to the political drama continues to unfold in the courts. Even before that, the school board initiated a potentially more far-reaching change, selecting as superintendent Tony Sawyer, who is completing his first term at the helm.

Sawyer is an ideas-laden, accountability-minded, get-it-done agent of change - the kind of top-flight administrator you would want on the job in a district challenged by pockets of low achievement, particularly in the middle grades; long-festering security concerns; and the many social ills that usually land on the doorstep of city school districts. Sawyer has big things in store for the district, including a makeover of the high school, and we have every confidence in his ability to move the district forward. What he needs, though, is a Board of Education that is prepared to sprint; the 9,900 students deserve nothing less. Toward that aim, we endorse the following candidates:

- Charles Stern, who joined the board in 2005; he is the author of the private blog www.mvschooltalk.net, which, quite frankly, is more revealing that the school district's own Web site. During our interview with the candidates, Stern impressed us with his emphasis on student achievement and accountability, for all in the Mount Vernon school community, including on the board. He also is the apparent ring-leader of a slate of purportedly like-minded candidates. Stern works in high-tech sales.

- Maria Cedano, board member since 2005; she is the chair of the Parent Involvement Committee, which has sponsored workshops aimed at giving parents better tools for helping their children succeed. On her to-do list for a second term: A concerted effort to improve the middle and high schools. "There's a lot of work to do with that," she said of the high school. "Dr. Sawyer has experience turning districts around. I want to see those results. I want to be able to say, 'I was a part of that.'" Cedano is a social worker.

- Derrick Claye, board member since 2006; he has all the tools for becoming an outstanding trustee. We previously have been impressed with his focus on accountability. He is seeking re-election to "continue to work to improve our schools, and to change the culture of mediocre expectations." His priorities: improving the secondary schools; restoring discipline in the middle and high schools; and shoring up the district's business management and operations. He is operations budget manager for the MTA.

-Maria Aneiro, PTA Council liaison on the 2008-09 budget; she impressed us with her grasp of the district's academic and financial issues. Aneiro prepared a 12-page guide of "Ideas and Suggestions" for the budget. She writes: "This board is partisan today, and is missing opportunities to define effective policies and objectives." She is director of manufacturing planning at Scholastic Inc.

- Michelle Walker, a PTA member and Education Committee member of the NAACP; we were moved by her own efforts to hold the district accountable for delivering an education for her own child. Her view of the district's most pressing problems: "a serious deficit" in student achievement; an "embarrassing graduation rate"; and insufficient efforts to redirect students away from gang activity and toward academic achievement. She can cite a long list of specific ideas for improving the district. Studying to become a paralegal, Walker works for Westchester's Child Care Council.

- Elias Gootzeit, appointed to the school board in December; this Editorial Board has previously applauded Gootzeit's ideas on education and his commitment to Mount Vernon. During our recent interview, Gootzeit was uncharacteristically vague and hard to follow. We certainly hope that he has not departed from his usual role as a straight-talking advocate for children and speaker of truth to power. That is the Gootzeit the children of Mount Vernon need to see and hear. He deserves more time on the board to fulfill his promise. He is a social worker and lawyer.

Be sure to check out the candidate profiles at LoHud.com to learn more about all the candidates.

Absent from our list are incumbents Diane Munro-Morris and Kathie Brewington. Munro-Morris is a three-term board member; her service has been commendable - but insufficient in a district that, once again, requires sprinters. Brewington is another recent appointee to the board. Her commitment to the district's children is undisputed; she has a long history of PTA involvement throughout the district. However, we do not think her board service to date matches the promise of the newcomers.

Also on the ballot are Marc Stuckey and Sean Fenton; neither had a firm grasp on the academic challenges facing the district, notwithstanding their interest in district affairs. Fenton is on a slate that also includes Stern, Claye, Walker and Aneiro. An opposing slate includes Cedano, Munro-Morris, Gootzeit and Brewington. To the extent that such slates are necessary - we think they have very limited utility in evaluating school board candidates - the Mount Vernon school community would do well to pick can-do candidates from both.